M A I N   N E W S

Police station stoned, cops flee
Tribune News Service

JALANDHAR, April 30 — Hundreds of agitated residents of Lidderan, Fazalpur and other villages on the city outskirts, who were sitting on a dharna on the Jalandhar-Amritsar road to protest against the murder of a resident on the same village in front of the Maqsudan police station last night, went on a rampage today. They stopped vehicular traffic, stoned the Maqsudan police station and damaged four police vehicles and even forced the policemen on duty to flee the police station this morning.

An about 400-strong mob, irked over the murder of Dalbir Singh, a resident of Lidderan village allegedly by Karnail Singh Dhillon at the gate of the police station, where the deceased, accompanied by some villagers, had gone to secure the release of one Manjinder Singh of the same village last night, started swarming the police station since morning and staged a dharna in front of it for about seven hours. They lifted the dharna only when they were assured by the police authorities that the remaining accused would be arrested soon.

Meanwhile, the police has arrested Karnail Singh Dhillon, the main accused who had allegedly shot Dalbir Singh with his .32 bore revolver in the presence of the sentry posted at the police station gate.

The other three accused — Charanjit Singh Channi, one of the city’s main colonisers, property developer Gurbachan Singh and his son, Talwinder Singh, alias Raju — are still at large. Mr Rajbir Singh, Sub-Inspector and incharge of the Maqsudan police station, has been suspended by the Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr Gaurav Yadav, for allegedly acting in a malafide manner by bringing Manjinder Singh to the police station. A departmental inquiry has also been instituted against him.

Dalbir Singh, one of the several cultivators on 84 acres of disputed property in Fazalpur village, had rushed to the police station along with several other villagers after learning that Manjinder Singh had been detained by the police there. There was a tiff between villagers and the four accused, including Karnail Singh Dhillon, inside the police station after which Dalbir Singh was forcibly taken out and shot by Karnail Singh.

The accused then left their Gypsy at the place and fled the scene in some other vehicle parked there. Though Karnail Singh was arrested by a police party from a drain bridge on the Kapurthala road and the weapon used in the crime was recovered from his possession, the other three accused are yet to be arrested.

Earlier, hundreds of villagers blocked traffic on the national highway passing in front of Lidderan village and another group pitched a tent in front of the police station, where they indulged in heavy brickbatting, damaging four police vehicles there. The police personnel on duty had to flee from the police station.

The mob also smashed windowpanes of CT Public School owned by Charanjit Singh Channi. The crowd was pacified only after Mr Pawan Uppal, SP, reached the spot and assured them that action would be taken against police personnel and the accused would be arrested.

Meanwhile, the relatives of the deceased and Mr Mohan Lal, the president of the Fazalpur Temple Committee, which claims to be the owner of the land, alleged that the deceased has been killed by the accused in connivance with police officials so that they could usurp the Rs 40 crore land belonging to the temple.

Mr Ajit Singh and Mr Daya Singh, cousin and father of the deceased, respectively, alleged that Dalbir had been killed as part of a well-planned conspiracy and before committing the crime, the accused had liquor with the cops in the police station.

The post-mortem examination of the body of Dalbir Singh was conducted by a three-member board of doctors at the local Civil Hospital after which his body was cremated at Lidderan village.